


Somebody to Die For

by Odd_birds_and_booksellers



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26366263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odd_birds_and_booksellers/pseuds/Odd_birds_and_booksellers
Summary: Set in the season six final what if Jo was one of the original interns and Gary Clark had found Jo and Alex on the walkway and decided to play a game of truth or dare? Based on Criminal Minds 14x15
Relationships: Alex Karev & Jo Wilson Karev, Alex Karev/Jo Wilson Karev
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27
Collections: The Group Chat's Fics





	1. somebody to die for

**Author's Note:**

> This was based off a prompt I received on Tumblr, it based around JJ and Reid from Criminal Minds storyline. 
> 
> In this world, there were six interns, and Jo and Alex were best friends from the start like Mer and Cristina or Izzie and George, additionally, Paul was an attending at the hospital that Jo met and married in season 3, everything happens the same, he was abusive and she manages to divorce him around season 5. This is set in the season 6 finale during the shooting. Derek was shot in his office and Gary Clark finds April, Alex and Jo on the walkway and decides to play one last game.

Alex could feel the sweat dripping down his back, his heart thumping as he tried to quiet his breathing crouching down on the floor, the only thing keeping him together was the feel of her hand in his. He has to keep her safe. He hasn’t looked back at her yet, but he can hear her unsteady breaths from where she hid behind him. 

“What's it gonna be?” The gunman yelled, waving the gun coward towards April. He could feel Jo jump beside him, a slight whimper leaving her lips and she squeezed his hand tighter. This morning they’d been rowing about some stupid bet, they’d totally ignored the lockdown notification, thinking it was just some stupid drill and now they were trapped along the walkway, praying for some sort of miracle. He wanted to reach out, wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay but they’re under strict orders to not move if they wanna make it out alive. 

“Please. I don't want to do this.” April cries, her whole body shaking as she stands before the gunman, her tears flowing fast. 

“Focus, April...Truth or Dare?”. He grins, holding the gun out, pressing his finger on and off the trigger like some sort of sick sadistic game. A grin appearing on his face as April screams, her eyes squeezing shut as she waits for a shot that never comes. 

“Please.” She whimpers, holding her hands out as if they offered any protection. 

The guy laughs, throwing his head back, mimicking April’s cowering form. “Doc, you got to decide. That's what you do, right? Decide life or death with a flick of your wrist.”

Suddenly Alex feels Jo’s hand loosen in his, and like a shot she passes him, her form a blur, grabbing the attention of the gunman. Alex tries to call out for her but his throat is dry. It's too late.

“Um, if April won't play, I will.” Jo trembles holding her hands up as the gunman spins around to face her, his fingering hovering over the trigger. “Truth or dare. That's your game, right?” She whispers, her eyes flicking to April who had crumbled into a heap on the floor, sobs wracking her body as she went. “I'll play.”

The gunman seems to consider her offer, pacing around looking between Jo and April sizing up his best chance at the game while Alex remains frozen on the floor, his feet glued down as he watches Jo, knowing at any second everything that matters to him could be gone. 

“Ok. Doctor…”

“Wilson.” Jo gulps, her hands still raised as she hesitantly steps closer to him. 

He raises his eyebrows at Jo, a sickly smiley appearing on his face. “Doctor Wilson. Truth or dare?” 

“Truth,” Jo answers instantly.

Slowly the gunman makes his way to where Jo is standing, circling her slowly. Jo can feel the heat of his breath against her neck as he talks. “If I think you're lying or stretching the truth in the slightest, I'll kill him.” He mutters raising his gun towards Alex, making Jo flinch as she glances over at him, her heart speeding up as her eyes meet Alex's.

Biting her lip, she slowly nods, trying to express how sorry she is to Alex with just a glance. 

“Have you ever had a patient die before?” 

“Yes, I have.” Jo grimaces, the colour drawing from her face as he circles her again. 

“Was it your fault?” He mutters, coming around to stand before Jo, pocking her breast bone with the barrel of the gun, making Jo shiver. 

“No.”

“Liar!” A gunshot rings out across the walkway, making April scream, Alex is up instantly heading towards Jo when the gunman turns his attention on him, another warning shot ringing out, stopping Alex in his tracks. 

“No, no, no. I'm not lying. Ok, I'm not lying.” Jo screams, whipping around so she's standing directly in front of Alex holding up her hands, trying to control her rapid breathing as she stumbles over her answer. “The patients I’ve lost, I’ve made mistakes but I’ve always tried my hardest to give them the best care that’s the truth.” 

Biting down on her lip, she can feel the blood beginning to seep through, as she stops herself from crying out. “Ok, you asked, and I told the truth, ok. I told you the truth. So now it's my turn. Right? That's how this game's played. We take turns. Truth or dare?”

The gunman pinches the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath as he paces back and forth. “Truth.” 

“What's it gonna take for all of us to walk out of here alive, for this to end peacefully?” 

“Someone to pay for my wife.” He yells, throwing his arms out, the gun smacking Jo straight in the head. She winces, squeezing her eyes shut, smelling the alcohol on his breath as he continues. “My turn. Truth or dare?”

Jo swallows, the hot tears rolling down her face, as she feels the gun press into her skin, the loud beating of her heart drowning out April’s cries and the faint sound of sirens outside. “Truth,” she whispers, letting out a sigh of relief as he lowers the gun to his side, taking a step back. 

“I want you to say something you're afraid to say, something that you'd never tell anybody.” He spits, his eyes narrowing on Jo, cocking his head to the side as he analyses her, looking her body up and down in a way that makes vomit rise in Jo’s throat. “And you better make it good, 'cause if it's not, it's gonna be the last thing you ever say.”

Nodding Jo tries to focus as her vision blurs with tears while she tries to wrack her brain for something, anything that will get them out of this. 

“So what's it gonna be?”

“There are only three people I trust in this world...”

“Boring.” He snaps, a gunshot flying by Jo’s ear, making Jo bite down hard on her lip again to stop herself from screaming, desperately trying to calm her breathing enough to talk, “Next!”

Jo whimpers, feeling completely hopeless as more tears burn her cheeks “When I was married before I was pregnant and I..”

“Boring.”

"No..No" Jo winces, bracing herself for another shot when she feels a warm hand against her back.

“Jo.” His voice sends tingles down her spine, offering her the tiniest moment of safety and hope.

Alex, her stupid fool of a best friend is now standing next to her.

“Shut up!” The gunman screams, coming forward he grabs Jo by her hair, ignoring the way she screams out in pain, as she claws at his hands, leaving Alex standing there powerless as he points the gun towards him. “Ok, ok, ok. Last chance. Something you would never say aloud, not even to your boy here. Your deepest, darkest secret. Impress me or I kill him. Come on!” He yells as Jo's knees buckle underneath her, falling to the floor, another shot of pain rippling through her as he holds her head up. 

“Alex, um... Um... I've always loved you.” She whispers, looking up from her place on the floor, her eyes finding his, he's crying, his eyes red from the salty tears, his fists clenched tightly as he stares back at her. “And I was just too scared to say it before. And now things are just really too complicated to say it now. I'm sorry. But you should know.” 

Jo can’t bear to look away as she shares her secret, watching the shock register in Alex’s eyes. She’d imagined this moment so many times, she should’ve told him intern year but she was too scared and then he’d been so mad at her for dating Paul and it had taken so long to rebuild their friendship that by the time they had got to place where she could tell him, he was marrying someone else, he was marrying Izzie, what could she do? She wasn't about to storm his wedding...not after she’d sat in the back of the church and listened to his vows.

“Hot damn.” The gunman chuckles, releasing Jo’s hair, bending down in front of her. “That's what I'm talking about. Now those are some last words right there. But not good enough to save your life.” He grins, lifting the gun up to her forehead.

It happens in a flash, a loud gunshot ringing across the walkway, Aprils screams echoing around as blood splattered across the floor…


	2. 'Girl, you make my heart break more every day'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish somebody would've told me  
> That I'd end up so caught up in need of your demons  
> That I'd be lost without you leading me astray  
> Guess that I'm a fool for the way that you caught me  
> Girl, you make my heart break more every day  
> But don't fade away

The blood stained his skin, seeping thought his clothes like a painting of the disaster delicately laid out across him. 

Staring down at her blood in his hands, Alex could feel bile rising in his throat, it had been three hours since they’d arrived at Seattle Presbyterian, he’d held her hand the whole way in the ambulance, begging her to stay with him. He couldn't get the image of her lying on the ground beside him after he’d tackled the gunman to the floor out of his brain, the way her eyes had searched for him, filling with relief as the police stormed around them before fluttering shut. 

“Karev” Looking up Alex found Webber standing before him, the guy looked exhausted but probably a hell of a lot better than Alex did right now. 

“Chief” Alex acknowledged as his head bowed down again continuing to rub at his blood-stained hands, he wasn’t sure they’d ever look clean to him again. 

He feels the bench dip beside him as Webber takes a seat, letting out a deep sigh as he rests his head against the wall glancing at Alex. “How’s Wilson?”

“I don’t know yet, no one will tell me anything.” He admits, he’s trying to stay calm but it’s taking everything in him to not push his way through those doors and go find her, rubbing the skin on his hands raw as he tried to wipe the blood away, he couldn’t stop the moment replaying in his head. 

“Well I’m sure someone will be out soon” Webber mutters, patting him gently on the shoulder as if it was providing any comfort to the young doctor. 

“She told me she loved me..” 

“Oh that’s erm...what did you say?” Webber stammered. 

“Nothing...I told her she was stupid.” Alex sighs the moment replaying over in his head, him crawling over to Jo, her body feeling limp in his arms as he told her how stupid she was for risking her life over and over again. 

“Can I give you some advice Karev?”

Alex swallows deeply, his eyes watering with the fear that the last thing he may ever get to say to Jo is that she’s stupid. Looking up he meets Webber’s eyes, the older man's face stoic as he speaks. 

“It’s times like these you realise that life is short and take it from a more experienced man...if you love someone really love someone, you lose nothing by telling them but you lose everything by leaving those words unspoken.” 

Webber stands, giving Alex another pat on the back. “I have to go check on some of the others, let me know any updates on Wilson.” He nods, heading down the hallway as Alex barely mumbles a response, to him it felt like losing everything because telling Jo he loved her had always come with the risk of losing her, not physically like it did now but what if she ran? She did that and so did he and he couldn’t risk being the one she run from.

He should’ve told her when she left Paul he should’ve said it then he’d already sat through years of her distancing herself from him for a reason he’d been too blind to see, he shouldn’t have wasted another minute. But Jo had seemed so fragile...so broken back then and he knew that her needs to heal were far more important than his desires and so he never said a word, for three months she shared his bed waking up with nightmares in the middle of the night and every night as he comforted her the three little words sat on the tip of his tongue just waiting to be said. 

Then it all changed, she got better and she moved out and the old Jo the one who had got drunk with him at Joe's bar, bet him he couldn't eat six crackers in one minute before pulling him up to dance on the bar with her after their first shift as interns  was back and when she’d seen him growing close with Izzie again she actively encouraged him to go back to her, to try again and that had been that last straw for Alex, you don’t wait around from someone who is wishing your happiness with someone else. 

* * *

It’s a while later when a surgeon appears in front Alex, letting him know that Jo had made it out of surgery, the bullet grazed an artery, they’d been able to fix but it would be touch and go for the next 24 hours. Blah blah blah Alex knew all this, surely they all knew the patients, the visitors, the family in the waiting rooms right now were doctors. They were all doctors and Alex had said this speech, he’d scrubbed in on a surgery like this, he knew the odds all too well. 

He’d seen her hurt before, he’d been the emergency contact the last time Paul had put her in the hospital, she’d looked bad then but it was nothing to the way she looked now before she was bruised and battered but there were clear signs of life, she was his little fighter but now she was pale and motionless, appearing so small surrounded by the noisy machinery keeping her alive. “You can’t go anywhere okay? You can’t leave me. You can’t drop a bomb like I love you and then leave me...I don’t even know if you meant it and if you did what does that mean for us?..is there an us?” Alex whispers, his hand gripping her limp one tightly, he couldn't hold back the tears that flooded his eyes as he leaned closer, carefully avoiding the various wires and tubes around her, he stroked back her hair softly. “You have to wake up Jo...I need more time with you...please don’t leave me I don't know how to be in this world if I'm not wishing for a future with you...so you have to fight and you have to come back to me okay? Come back to me.” He agonises, pressing a shaky kiss to her forehead as he continues to stroke her hair back softly. 

* * *

Alex could feel sleep taking over when the door creaked open, Cristina appearing, holding two cups of coffee dressed in Seattle Presbyterian scrubs. “Hey you okay?” she whispers, placing the coffee down beside him as she flips through Jo’s chart at the end of her bed.

“Not really, you?” Alex grumbles, mumbling his thanks for the coffee, his eyes trailing over Jo, there had been no change for the last few hours, which wasn’t bad news exactly but it wasn’t good either.

“Same” 

“How’s Mer?” 

“It’s Meredith...she's well you know.” Christina shrugs, dragging a chair from the corner, ignoring the way it screeched across the floor as she shuffled next to Alex. 

Alex raised his eyebrows, glancing at her curiously, surprised she’d stayed he’d assumed she was just passing by, her and Jo we’re friends sure but he’d have thought she’d be glued to Meredith's side. “Did they say anything about Shepherd?”

“Not awake yet.” Christina responds bluntly, her eyes scanning over each machine in the room before turning towards Alex. “So hairball finally grew some balls huh?”

Choking on his coffee Alex reeled back, his eyes narrowing on Cristina who was stifling a laugh as she watched him wipe up the spilt coffee. 

“Kepner...she said Jo confessed it all, it’s funny it’s only taken her like what? almost five years?” She explains smirking at him. 

“You knew?” Alex exclaims his nose wrinkling as he looks back between Jo and Christina. 

Alex growls as Christina leans over, slapping the back of his neck as she gestures towards Jo. “Are you an idiot? Who else would put up with your crap? She wanted to be your friend from day one, which I find pretty strange cause I don’t even wanna be your friend now and you’re much better than you used to be.” 

Rolling his eyes, Alex rubbed the back of his head, his face scrunched up in a scowl as he shifted away from Christina. “Shut up..”

“What? Come on? You seriously didn’t know, never wondered why your best friend never turned up to your wedding?” 

Or did and didn’t have the heart to tell you that she couldn’t stand beside you as your best man or best woman whatever, and while he was helping his wife shave her head she was getting drunk at Jo’s bar until Christina and Mer had turned up to drag her home. You see Jo seemed to be able to tell everyone but Alex that she was in love with him.

“It’s because she couldn’t watch you marry someone else idiot.” Christina reaches out, slapping Alex's head again.

Grumbling Alex pushes her hands away, “I watched her marry Stadler.” 

He watches as Cristina grimaces at the guy's name, Alex isn’t the only one that would like to give that guy a one-way ticket to the E.R “And you’ve spent every day since regretting it.”

She wasn’t wrong. Alex has regretted it long before he knew about the abuse. Hell since her first date with that guy Alex had regretted it, logically he knows what happened to Jo wasn’t his fault but he carries the guilt of her pain with him every day. 

“So are you gonna tell her?”

“Tell her what?”

“That you love her, you idiot,” Christina growls, leaning over to slap him again but he intercepts, griping her hand he gently places it down on the bed. 

“I don’t know.” He hisses feeling her waiting glance on him. 

Rolling her eyes Christina throws her head back groaning in frustration. “Oh come on Alex...the girl got shot and you still aren’t gonna tell her you love her? What is it? Is it Izzie? Do you still-”

“No! God no.” Alex exclaims shuddering at the thought. “That is over...so over. That was...I dunno what that was...” Sighing Alex drops his head into his hands... “It’s just not that simple.” 

“Yes, it is, man up and tell her.” Christina snorts patting his shoulder as she stood, ordering him to keep her updated as he heads to the door, still shaking her head laughing as she walks away, leaving Alex to contemplate their conversation.

* * *

  
Alex is awakened from his sleep by the feel of fingers running softly through his hair, rousing him slowly, his face scrunches up, blinking several times as he adjusts to the harsh hospital lights. 

Rubbing his eyes, his gaze focuses on her, she’s sitting up, gently propped up against the pillows, her hand still playing with the curls in his hair as she smiles softly at him. 

“Hi,” she whispers, her voice as she speaks,

She’s awake. She's here. 

Sitting up frantically Alex pushes forward taking her face in hands pressing chaste kisses across her skin. 

He hears Jo’s quiet chuckle as he leans back still cradling her face, his eyes scanning over her, making sure she’s real. 

“I’m glad you’re here.” She mumbles, a weak smile spreading across her face. 

“You’re my best friend, where else would I be?”

He takes her in for a moment before an awkwardness sets in, his face still cradling her hands, they’re not really the type to be over affectionate with each other. 

Biting his lip, Alex straightens out, sitting back in his seat he clears his throat.  “You could’ve got yourself killed Jo what in the world were you thinking?” 

Groaning Jo shifts uncontrollably, her body felt like it was being weighed down and it was still hard to move. “I could say the same to you, Alex, you tackled him, he had a gun for fuck sake.”

Alex scoffs ignoring the way she glares at him, rubbing his jaw, he should've tackled him sooner, before that bastard even had a chance to get his finger on the trigger. “Yeah pointed at you...what was I meant to do, sit back and watch?...I’d rather risk it.”

Silence falls between them, Alex’s gaze burning into Jo’s. Her eyes watering as she looked up at him curiously. “Why? Why would you do that for me?”

“Shut up...why wouldn’t I?” Sighing Alex swallows deeply, taking hold of her hand, he watches the way her fingers lace through his almost automatically. “Jo I…”

He doesn't get a chance to continue as she interrupts him, her eyes flicking down to their joint hands. “Look Alex, what I said back there, I, uh... I needed to say something that would get his attention, You know, so, I, uh, I just needed to throw him off balance.” She whispers a lone tear falling down her face as Alex frowns, letting go of her hand as he stands. 

For a moment she thinks he’s gonna leave, but he surprises her, as he moves the wires around her to the side, gently sitting on the bed beside her. “Truth or dare?” He mutters wrapping an arm around her as he settles on the bed. 

Jo narrows her eyes on him, chewing on her lip as she leans back into his embrace. “Truth.”

“Did you mean it?”

She tries to turn her head away, avoid his gaze so she can lie without him knowing but Alex’s hand wraps around her face slowly lifting her chin up so they're inches apart. “I...I was prepared to take that secret to the grave,” she admits, searching his eyes for any indication of his feelings. “You’re my best friend you know? And I can’t lie to you and say I didn’t mean it. I do love you and I’ll always love you and I know that’s not fair and you’re still in love with Izzie but you’re such a big piece of my heart Alex.” She takes a deep breath as Alex wipes the stray tears from her cheeks, his eyes never leaving hers. “I just wonder if things were different if I’d got my shit with Paul together a long time ago then maybe…”

Alex cuts her off, he's heard enough, leaning forward, he presses his lips against hers, it’s hard and rough like all his fears are mixed in with the kiss and he needs to her feel every emotion inside of him.

“You’re so stupid you know that?” He mutters against her lips, one hand tangling in her hair as he rests his forehead against hers. 

“You can’t say that to me I’ve just been shot,” Jo grumbles, her lips tingling from their kiss. 

Smirking Alex, nuzzles his nose against hers gently, his eyes lighting up. “I can and I’m gonna keep saying it, cause only someone as stupid as you could think that I don’t love you more then I’ve ever loved anything in this world.” He laughs, pressing another kiss to her lips. 

“Wait what?” Jo grins, her hand coming up to cup his head, careful to mind the IV in her hand as she did. 

“I love you.”  Alex grins the smile taking over his face, but it swiftly falls as he watches Jo's nose wrinkle up in disgust. 

“You should probably take a shower you stink.” 

Alex chuckles rolling his eyes as she smirks up at him, that mischievous grin falling across her lips as he peppered kisses around her face, squealing in delight. “I’m serious...how long have you been here?” she mumbles as she guides his lips back up towards her own.

“Shut up woman...I’m trying to kiss you here.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took longer than expected I'm lazy basically. Thank you anon for the prompt this one was super fun to write. 
> 
> Thanks for the love and the reviews. I have a super fluffy one-shot coming tomorrow as part of my What Could've Been collection on fanfiction, so if you haven't read them I'd go catch up. 
> 
> Fade - Lewis Capaldi

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, check back tomorrow for part two, but leave your guesses below on what happens next. 
> 
> Somebody to Die For - Hurts


End file.
